Adjustable pilot.



J. M. SLEDGE.

ADJUSTABLE PILOT.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 10, 1912,

1,078,467. Patented Nov. 11, 1913.

Ja/mflf Sledge 1 W Emma,

UNITE JOHN M. SLEDGE, OF MARSHALL, TEXAS.

ADJUSTABLE rI or.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Nov. 11,1913.

Application filed July 10, 19.12. Serial No. 708,675

To (17? whom it may concern:

lie it known that I, J OHN M. SLEDGE, a citizen of the United States, residing at Marshall, in the county of Harrison and State of Texas, have invented new and useful Improvements in Adjustable Pilots, of which the following is a specification.

The general objectof this invention is the provision of a pilot for locomotives, the same being adapted for adjustable connection with the pilot beam and having novel means, which may quickly and easily be adjusted thereto whereby the distance between the base of the pilot and the road bed may be Varied whenever desired.

In carrying out the object of the inven tion it will be understood, of course, that the essential features thereof are susceptible to changes in details and structural arrangements, one preferred and practical embodiment being shown in the accompanying drawing, wherein Figure 1 is a vertical longitudinal sectional view of a pilot and a portion of the locomotive showing the invention applied thereto. Fig. 2 is a top plan View of the adjusting means. Fig. 3 is a perspective view of one of the connecting shoes used in connection with the adjusting means.

Referring more particularly to the accompanying drawing in which like reference characters designate similar parts, 5 indicates generally the forward end of a locomotive of any construction and 6 the pilot which may be also of any preferred construction, said pilot being connected to the pilot beam 7 so as to render the same vertically adjustable relative thereto.

The pilot 6 is adapted to have secured thereto medially the ends thereof, a shoe 8 which has its securing end cut to provide an angular recess 9 which is adapted to snugly engage a portion of the pilot and be secured thereto by means of a bolt 9 having a nut 10 threaded upon one end thereof. The outer end of the shoe 8 is bifurcated as indicated at 11, said bifurcation being adapted to receive the reduced end 12 of a connecting rod 13. The bifurcated portion of the shoe and the reduced extension 12 are provided with transverse openings, which are adapted to register when the parts are in position, said openings being adapted to receive the pivot bolt 14, which is detachably held in position by means of a cotter pin 15. The other end of the connecting rod 13 is screw threaded, as indicated at 16, to receive one of the threaded openings of a turn buckle 17. The other opening of the turn buckle 17 is adapted to receive the oppositely threaded end 18 of a second connecting rod 19, which is identical in construction to the connecting rod previously described. Also threaded upon the portions 16 and 18 of the two connecting rods are the jam nuts 20, which are adapted to be threaded into engagement with the extremities of the turn buckle 17 after said rods have been adjusted, whereby movement thereof will be prevented. The free end of the connecting rod 19 is adapted to be connected to a suitable support, such as the pending angular bracket 21, which is carried by the body of the locomotive by means of a shoe 22, having the recess 23 therein, which is similar in construction to the recess formed in the shoe 19, said shoe 22 being adapted to be secured to the bracket 21 by means of the bolt 24 and the nut 25. The connecting rod 19 is pivotally connected to the shoe 22 by means of the detachable pivot bolt 26, which is held in position by means of the cotter pin 27, it being understood that said shoe 22 is also provided with a bifurcation adapted to receive a reduced extension of the adjacent end of the connecting rod 19. It will also be obvious from the construction of the shoe just described that the same may be readily detached from this position and reversed as shown in dotted lines in Fig. 1. It will thus be seen that by turning the turn buckle 17, the pilot 6 will be raised or lowered at will and, owing to the pivotal connections, free movement of the parts will be permitted.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing it will be seen that-the invention contemplates providing mcans for adjusting the pilot of a locomotive, said means being simple in construction, thus reducing the cost of manufacture of the same to a minimum, and which means is durable and effective in carrying out the purpose for which it is designed.

VVhat is claimed is:

The combination with a locomotive, of a pilot connected thereto, a shoe formed with an angular recess to engage said pilot, a

bracket secured to the locomotive, av shoe In testimony whereof I affix my signature formed to cooperate W1th sa1d bracket, stud 1n presence of two witnesses. shoes bemg 1nterchangeable, connectlng rods d F plvotally mounted 1n the respectlve shoes, JOHN SLEDJE' 5 and a turn buckle engaging the adjacent Witnesses:

ends of said rods for adjusting said rods I. W. ALLEN,

longitudinally With respect to each other. F. W. GRAFF. 

